Hell Is Us has no map and no markers, and it still hooked CMoney. Strong melee, a drone buddy and puzzles that make you feel smart.
Verdict Worth a Look
I went into Hell Is Us with almost no expectations. Viewers were split. Some people loved it. Some people did not. I had only seen a few seconds of it at a Samsung event in 3D without glasses, and that look stuck with me. Sitting down for a real session, I figured it might be one of those open, directionless games that lose me fast. I am not usually a “make your own fun” guy. I want the fun delivered. Hell Is Us still won me over. Way better than I expected.
Watch the RAW IMPRESSIONS
Hell Is Us RAW IMPRESSIONS: Way Better Than I ExpectedThis is pretty cool, man. I like this one.
CMoney, OnPoint 4 Gamers
What Hell Is Us is
Hell Is Us is a third-person action-adventure from Rogue Factor, the Montreal studio behind Mordheim: City of the Damned, published by Nacon. You play as a decorated soldier who smuggles himself back into Hadea, an isolated country torn apart by civil war and a supernatural calamity. The creatures that came with that calamity do not care about modern guns. Your tools are an old-world blade and a little drone that becomes your second set of eyes.
It launched September 4, 2025 on Xbox Series X|S and PC, with Xbox Play Anywhere. Standard Edition sits at $59.99 on the Xbox Store and $49.99 on Steam. As of July 23, 2026 it is also on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, Game Pass Premium, and PC Game Pass, including cloud. I played the full release.
The game tells you off the rip: no map, no markers for where to go, who to talk to, or what to do next. Pay attention. Listen. Be vigilant. That warning is not marketing fluff. It means it.
I do not usually like this kind of game
I am going to call a spade a spade. Games that dump you in a world and refuse to point are not my comfort zone. Early on I was wandering, reading, and wondering if this was going to waste my time. The opening even keeps the controller out of your hands for a stretch while the story sets Remi’s past up, and I felt that.
Then the world started talking in a language I could work with. Sound design is good enough that I could hear the wind chimes and actually follow them. A compass exists when you need a heading. NPCs do not dump a glowing arrow on your HUD. They say things like “north through the woods, follow the chimes,” and then it is on you. That is cooler than I wanted to admit.
Investigation without a trail of breadcrumbs
Conversations in Hell Is Us run on something the game calls datums: pieces of information you pick up in the world that unlock new topics. Optional chatter sits on one side. Stuff that matters to what you are actually doing sits on the other. You can dig deep into Hadea’s culture and history, or you can stay on the path. I stayed on the path at first because I did not care yet. The cool part is that the game lets you make that call.
It also looks better than “good enough.” Fog, buildings, room composition, lighting. I kept catching myself saying the environments look interesting. Not every frame is a maxed-out graphics flex. A lot of it is moody and dark on purpose. When a room is lit well, it pops.
Puzzles that make you feel smart
My favorite stretch early was a riddle-and-mechanism puzzle with symbols I could not read until the drone helped translate. Tower. Serpent. Fires of hell. Line those up, watch the thing move, and suddenly a sealed space opens. That loop of looking, guessing, and getting it right is the heart of this game for me.
Another door wanted a necklace from Remi’s past. Another stretch wanted medallions. Nothing screamed the answer in giant letters. The game gives you hints, not a GPS. I can respect that.
Then it stops being a walking sim
For a while I had no real weapon and no flashlight, creeping through a dark space full of bodies and asking out loud if this was a horror game. Bullets from a found gun did nothing useful against what I ran into. Then the tone flipped. Remi takes a fallen fighter’s gear, a sword, and that drone, and all of a sudden Hell Is Us feels like a combat game.
I dig the melee. It is chill at first, then it asks more of you. Hit enemies cleanly and faint particles build into a healing pulse you can fire off. The drone has its own tricks for when two enemies are on you. Linked enemies show up later: a Hollow Walker tied to a Haze, and you have to break the pair the right way or you are wasting swings. Axes became my comfort pick. Using a weapon levels it up, which made me want to stick with what I liked.
The sound design carries a lot of weight here too. Combat hits. The music underneath does work. I caught myself saying me likey more than once, and I meant it.
The open design is the risk
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Here is my real hesitation, and I am going to be honest about it. Games like this often hold your hand for the tutorial stretch, then cut the rope and leave you lost. I am cautiously optimistic that Hell Is Us keeps giving you just enough. In my session it did. Hints without babysitting. Save points that show up often enough. Progress that sticks even if you die, so a bad fight does not erase conversations and puzzles you already solved.
I still do not know how long that balance lasts once the map opens wider. That is the question mark. It is also why I want to keep going.
Verdict: Worth a Look
Hell Is Us is not the kind of game I usually reach for, and that is exactly why this session surprised me. Rogue Factor built a mystery-box adventure with real melee bite, a drone buddy, and a world that expects you to pay attention. The look is strong, the combat clicked for me, and the puzzles made me feel like I earned the next door.
It is out now on Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it is on Game Pass. If you like exploration that trusts you, and you do not need a giant arrow telling you where dinner is, go try it. I went in skeptical. I came out digging it. This is pretty cool, man. I like this one.
What's working
- No-map exploration that still gives you real hints if you listen
- Mood, fog, lighting and room composition that look great
- Datum conversations you can dig into or skip
- Melee combat, weapon leveling, healing pulse and drone tricks
- Symbol puzzles that feel satisfying when they click
- On Game Pass, so the buy-in to try it is easy
What needs work
- A slow, talky open if you want the controller in your hands immediately
- Easy to wander the wrong way and second-guess yourself
- The big risk is whether the game keeps guiding you after the early stretch
Platform played: PC
Screenshots captured by OnPoint 4 Gamers from gameplay. Featured image: OnPoint 4 Gamers, built on an official Hell is Us Steam screenshot (Rogue Factor / Nacon).
Sources
- Xbox Store (Rogue Factor and Nacon, Sep 4 2025, Xbox Series X|S and PC, Xbox Play Anywhere, cloud)
- Steam store page (Sep 4 2025, Rogue Factor, Nacon)
- Xbox Wire, Game Pass July 2026 wave 2 (Hell is Us joins Ultimate, Premium and PC Game Pass July 23)
- Games Press launch announcement (Rogue Factor, Nacon)
- CMoney's Hell Is Us RAW IMPRESSIONS video, Sep 12 2026
